17 Things All Northern Irish Dads Do (On An Almost Daily Basis!)

To celebrate our Norn Iron dads, we’ve counted down just some of the things they tend to do on an almost daily basis.

Let us know what else your Norn Irish das do in the comments below!

1. He Takes His Role Of Taking Out The Bins VERY Seriously

For some weird reason, it seems a rite of passage that when a man becomes ‘head of the household’ (we let them think that), he suddenly takes his bin duties very seriously. And hey, we’re not complaining. At Christmas and Easter they need to be particularly switched on.

2. “Do You Think We’re MADE Of Money?!”

Stamping around the house turning off lights, radiators or plugs – at about 10 o’clock at night in the middle of December – is just a rite of passage for a Northern Irish dad.

But we shouldn’t be laughing. We’ll probably be doing the same thing in a few years when we see what an electric bill is.

3. ‘Go Ask You Mother & Give My Head Peace!’

When all else fails, or he simply can’t be bothered, it very quickly becomes mum’s problem.

4. He Says The Opposite Of What He Thinks

He finds out his son has been seeing three women at the same time and has decked some bloke for looking the wrong way at one of said females. His reaction is to read the riot act. Inside he’s feeling warm and fuzzy with pride.

5. No DIY Manual Is Ever Needed. Ever.

It all begins with such optimism. But 10 hours and approximately 50 new swear worlds later, it all ends in tears… (there’s a DIY guide for a reason dads!)

6. A Fun Saturday = A Visit To The Closet DIY Store

If your dad’s anything like ours, the recent closure of B&Q on the Boucher Road has hit him hard…

7. Covert operations

He pretends he’s asleep but is secretly taking in every word that’s spoken while his family think his guard’s down. Even when he’s really asleep he’ll claim he was just resting his eyes.

8. ‘Daddy Dinner’

The one time of year you were guaranteed a takeaway was when your mum left dinner duties to dad…

But never fear – a Norn Iron dad definitely knows his way to a chippie! (But he sends you instead).

9. No Waste

He’s definitely finished off your dinner on more than one occasion. Yer da = the bin.

10. ‘Dad Bod’

Which is probably why he has the oh-so-happening dad bod.

Don’t worry though – they’re all the rage right now. Even Leo has one. Apparently. (He still looks fine to us!)

11. ‘His‘ Seat

He will have a specific ‘seat’ most places he goes: from the living room, to the pub, to the garden.

12. He Doesn’t Even Trust His Own Advice

That moment when you’re mum’s not in and you have to ask dad for advice. But we’ve found they come up with rather effective, if unusual, solutions.

13. ‘Is that a belt?!’

Our dad wouldn’t have allowed us out of the house if he’d seen us like this…

Dads have a particular talent for hearing us tip-toe down the stairs when we’d rather avoid that joke about the belt thing. Funnily enough, he doesn’t hear us when we ask him for taxi money though.

14. They’re (Rather) Fond Of The Black Stuff

Northern Irish dads are pretty loyal to the good ‘aul black stuff – but they certainly don’t appear to have leaped onto the Craft Beer trend quite so easily…

15. ‘Do I look Like A Taxi?’

Any request for a lift somewhere is met with “I’m not a taxi!” Before he begrudgingly does our bidding with a sigh. Northern Irish dads are a soft touch really!

16. ‘Real Men’ Don’t Use Maps

Northern Irish dads don’t need maps. Maps are for wimps. ‘Real men’ get lost on purpose.

17. He Is NOT Above Going Out In His Slippers

Northern Irish dads appear to have no cringe barrier. If he arrives somewhere to pick you up and you don’t emerge on time – be careful. He can and WILL use his slippers against you by entering the premises to find you himself. You’ve been warned!

18. They Have No Filter

At all. We’re not sure when it happens, but somewhere along the way, dads loose any ability to feel embarrassed. Cue dad jokes, weird outfits and an actually kind of cool ‘I couldn’t care less attitude.’ Which maybe we only begin to appreciate when we realise just how lucky we are to have the man we do as our dad.